


Too Late The Shaman

by maaaaa



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:47:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23641075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maaaaa/pseuds/maaaaa
Summary: Written in October 2006 for the 'Spook Me' Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon, using the prompts Vampire, Reptile, and Trapped.
Kudos: 4





	Too Late The Shaman

**Author's Note:**

> Written in October 2006 for the 'Spook Me' Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon, using the prompts Vampire, Reptile, and Trapped.

Blair walks through the mist. He is momentarily confused; the haze is not vaporous as he expects it should be. As he strides through it, it doesn’t swirl away. It clings to him briefly, miry and sticky against his naked form, and then drags slowly off his skin. He thinks it’s as if he’s walking through cobwebs drenched in moldy syrup. It is a drab, dusty color and it reeks of decay. The surface under his feet is a gelatinous quagmire. He steps gingerly for several paces. His feet sink into the muck and make nasty sucking noises as they pull free. Each footfall releases more of the stench that is now surrounding him.

Blair wonders what this place is; wonders what he is doing here. He shivers and runs his hands up and down his arms. The air is clammy and Blair feels a chill down to his bones. It is a dreadful, life-sucking place. It is bleak and he shivers again as a terrible coldness skitters across his skin. His soul quakes as a sense of evil overpowers all else.

Blair notices stirrings and gyrations within the miasma. Shapes begin to take form, straining against the murkiness. He discerns the outlines of reptilian creatures…a head here, a tail there, claws and teeth and squirming bodies. Lizards and snakes emerge from the ooze but are one with it and cannot break free of it. They come at Blair from all directions. They curl and twist their way up his legs and around his middle. They crawl up his arms and entwine themselves in his hair. They slither over his face, across his mouth and over his nose.

Blair reacts to the vile creatures with a body-wracking tremor. They are repugnant little beasts, but Blair knows they are only representations of lesser evils. They seek refuge with him from something far more heinous. Blair senses that true Evil lurks within the shadows. A low rumbling starts and the reptiles freeze for a moment and then disappear back into the fog. The droning builds and draws closer. The air is still.

Blair hears the sound of his own heartbeat thundering against his ribcage. It blends with the sound of hundreds of flapping wings.

Blair knows this a portent. Something diabolical is coming and he knows this is a cosmic warning. He curses loudly, screaming into the void. He doesn’t know what to do. He is alone and scared. The air moves, slapping against him. Fog swirls around him in shades of brown, then amber, rust and red. He is surrounded by the coppery smell of blood and death.

Blair reels back as the ooze around him explodes with hundreds and hundreds of bats. They fly past him and over him and under him. He sees their hundreds of beady eyes and thousands of sharp teeth. They vanish into the ether and Blair is enveloped in scarlet.

Blair sees a lone figure approaching. It is cloaked in black and swathed in red mist. He knows what the creature is. Without words it lets him know why it has come. It smiles calculatingly, baring its fangs. It spreads it arms outward with a mighty swoop. Blair watches as its silky black cape transforms into membranous wings. Blair hears a hollow mocking laugh as the Nightstalker bursts into the air and evaporates.

Blair wakes with a start, muffling a shout. Jim is already at his side.

~*~*~*~

Jim listens intently as Blair recounts his vision. They both accept the fact of the matter; although nightmarish, it was not a dream. There are no lies or obfuscations or truth-shadings between them anymore. Even so, Jim is skeptical when Blair tells him a vampire is in Cascade. He tries to find another explanation. He tries not to scoff or sound condescending as he offers the platitude that vampires are nothing more than myth and legend. Blair points out that sentinels are also nothing more than legend and Jim backs off.

Jim allows Blair to prattle on for a while. He pays close attention to the conclusions Blair draws about what he’s foreseen. He hears Blair tell him the creature is taunting them; it intends to use Cascade as a feeding ground before moving on. It knows the city has a protector and it is not daunted by the fact. It knows Blair is a shaman and is even less impressed.

Jim sits as Blair drags himself off the bed. He watches his friend and monitors him as he tramps around the room. He knows Blair needs to talk and pace and expend nervous energy as the disturbing images replay themselves.

Jim listens as Blair rails against the unfairness of having the way of the shaman thrust on him. He pulls a face and winces as Blair angrily punches the air with a fist. Blair curses as he did in the vision stating flatly he knows he’s a failure as a shaman. Jim decides to put an end to Blair’s outburst quickly, before it goes too far. He stands up and pulls Blair to him. He wraps his arms around Blair and holds him tight. He assures Blair they’ll stand together against whatever is to come.

~*~*~*~

The morning brings news of the first victim. He is a young man. He is found dead in a park in a seedy area near the edge of town. Jim is not the detective assigned to the case but he goes to the morgue anyway. Blair accompanies him.

Dan Wolf tells Jim the cause of death is exsanguination and he is puzzled by it. He indicates the two puncture wounds on the side of the victim’s neck and explains there are no other cuts or gashes on the body. He thinks it should be impossible to drain every drop of blood from a body by such means.

Blair leans in for a closer look at the body. He feels himself pale and holds back the urge to vomit. He turns away and takes a few deep breaths. He fights to control the tremors he feels building behind his knees. He mumbles a calming mantra and turns back to have another look. He thinks it doesn’t look anything like what a horror movie usually portrays. The holes are jagged and ugly. There are deep purple-black bruises surrounding the bite that attest to the forcefulness of the vampire’s suction. He thinks back to biology classes taken long past and his mind dredges up the amount of blood a human body contains. He wonders with a feeling of dread how many bodies, each with six quarts of blood, it will take to satisfy the ghoul’s hunger.

Jim examines the body. He concurs with Dan’s findings and silently shares Blair’s revulsion. He ushers Blair from the morgue with a tight grip on both his guide and his senses. He drives them to the crime scene. They stop at several places along the way to procure garlic and holy water and wooden slats made of Ash and Hawthorne.

Jim finds no clues at the scene.

~*~*~*~

Blair spends most of the day reading everything he can find on vampires. He finds it difficult to separate myth from legend and the realities from fictionalized accounts. He researches connections between shamanism and vampirism and is disheartened to learn what little there is paints an unholy alliance between the two. He fears the creature will prey upon Cascade and satisfy its appetite while he and Jim are powerless to stop it.

Blair gathers all the talismans he’s collected during his travels over the years. He chants every charm against evil from every culture he can recall. He fashions necklaces from strips of leather and affixes each with a single iron nail. He wears one and insists that Jim wear one as well.

Blair meditates long into the night. He hopes he might receive another omen, one that will reveal a weakness in the creature or a hidden strength in sentinel and guide.

Jim stands watch.

~*~*~*~

There is another victim. She is found in the early morning.

Jim and Blair hear the call over the radio on their way to the station. Both men are bleary-eyed from the long night. They detour to the crime scene. It is a neglected cemetery not far from the park where the young man was killed. Jim hopes if he gets there before the forensics team he may be able to discern something.

Two uniformed cops meet them. Jim shows his badge. The area is not taped off yet. There are no gawkers to keep at bay. The officers report that the woman was spotted during a routine patrol of the area. One of the officers points to the place where the dead woman is laid out atop a tombstone, the long flat type that is set lengthwise in the ground and covers the entire grave. Jim nods and he and Blair are allowed to proceed.

Jim looks over the body first. He orders Blair to stay back. Blair does as Jim asks. He hangs his head and peers nervously around. He is unable to keep his gaze from straying to Jim and the woman.

Jim uses his senses to try to pick up something he may have missed at the other crime scene. He is unsuccessful; it’s as if the woman was plunked on the spot out of thin air. Jim motions for Blair to come over.

Blair kneels in the damp grass at the woman’s side. He looks at her face first. She is older than the victim from the day before. She is white, unnaturally pale. He glances at the puncture holes on her neck. He thinks they are even more grotesque than the ones on the young man’s neck. He’s not wearing gloves, and he knows he shouldn’t, but he lays his hands on one of her arms. She is cold, so very cold. He closes his eyes and silently offers a prayer for her soul to find peace.

Blair opens his eyes and the woman’s eyes are open too. She is looking directly at him.

Blair shrieks and lets go of the woman. He falls back, landing awkwardly on his backside. He scrambles to put some distance between himself and the body. He is gasping for air in short spastic breaths.

Jim races to Blair when he hears the shriek.

Blair is staring at the woman, his eyes wide. Her eyes are closed. He babbles to Jim about what just happened. Jim tells him to slow down and breathe. Blair gulps slowly. He licks his lips a few times. Jim demands Blair look at him. Blair does. He concentrates on Jim for several seconds and then nods his head slowly. He tells Jim he’s all right.

Blair crawls back over to the woman. Jim follows him. Blair sits back on his haunches and runs his hands over his thighs, wiping bits of grass off his palms. He looks up at Jim, who is standing at his side. Jim nods, first at Blair and then at the woman. He places a hand on Blair’s shoulder.

Blair touches the woman. Her eyes pop open again. Blair knows by the way Jim’s fingers dig into his shoulder that he sees it too. The eyes look up toward the sky and then slowly turn toward Blair. For a moment there is confusion in their gray-green depths, and then they soften in realization. And then they tell him the story of her death. The spirit of the dead woman reveals the whereabouts of the vampire’s lair.

Blair drags in a lungful of air and holds it. He feels cold. He feels his muscles stiffen. He slides to the ground as the woman’s spirit floats away on its journey to the next realm.

Jim shakes Blair hard and slaps his face. He pleads for Blair to breathe. He yells at him to open his eyes.

Blair comes round with a fierce shudder.

~*~*~*~

Jim makes a call to Simon. He tells the captain he and Blair are following up on a lead related to another case. Blair nods in approval when Jim decides not tell Simon about the vampire. They both know Simon has enough problems dealing with the sentinel stuff.

Blair tells Jim what the woman’s spirit communicated. He describes an old dilapidated house. It sits on a hill overlooking the bay. The yard is overgrown with weeds. Jim says he knows the place. He adds details that confirm it. He mentions that kids in the area consider it to be haunted; they dare each other to visit it on Halloween night. Jim knows this because he was once one of those kids.

Jim drives out of the city along a winding coastal road. Blair rummages around the cab of the truck until he finds the wooden slats. He pulls his knife from his backpack and whittles the ends, fashioning stakes. He works quietly and Jim finds the silence disconcerting. He tries to make a joke about Buffy but Blair shoots him a nasty look so he lets it drop.

They arrive at the house. It is a creepy looking place; calling it dilapidated is a compliment. They arm themselves with their vampire slaying accoutrements and set off. Blair hesitates after a few steps then runs back to the truck and grabs a flashlight.

Blair advises Jim that all popular vampire folklore agree that the creatures sleep during the day. He adds that they prefer to sleep in a coffin in a dark place. He tells Jim that most tales also agree that the creatures cannot survive in sunlight. It is mid-morning and Blair thinks they have plenty of time to locate the monster and destroy it.

Jim uses his most commanding voice to warn Blair to be careful.

Blair wants to split up when they enter the house. It is huge and imposing and Blair reasons they’ll cover more ground. Jim disagrees and they stay together. Jim’s plan is to start at the top of the house and work their way down. Blair’s choice is to start at the bottom. They bicker for a few minutes. They head to the top floor.

The house is dark. The windows are boarded up and there is no electricity. Blair juggles the stakes and fumbles for the flashlight. He warns Jim before switching it on. Jim doesn’t detect any heartbeat other than his and Blair’s, but Blair quickly reminds him the vampire is undead.

The attic is musty and Jim stifles a sneeze. There are boxes and rubbish, but no sign of the vampire. They move down to the second story. It takes a while to check each room, even with Jim’s senses. They come up empty-handed and Blair reminds Jim whose idea it was to start at the top. They return to the main floor and continue their search.

The rooms are littered with the debris of many years of neglect. Jim picks up a strange odor as they near the back of the house. There’s a pantry off the kitchen. Jim leads the way through it, following the scent. They find the door to the cellar at the back of the pantry. Jim opens the door and Blair tells Jim to dial down his sense of smell. It is pitch-black. The hairs on Blair’s arms and the back of his neck stand up. He knows the creature is down there. The stairs are narrow and steep. He knows Jim has no problem seeing. Blair snags a fistful of Jim’s jacket and cautiously follows him down. He steadies the flashlight and uses it to watch his step.

There are three large rooms in the cellar. They are bare except for odds and ends, old tools and some empty crates. Jim sees a door in the far wall of the last room and moves toward it. He reminds Blair to keep behind him and stay close. Blair nods his head and whispers acknowledgement.

Jim shoulders the door open. It creaks as if protesting but then gives way. The room is not very big. There is a box the size and shape of a casket sitting atop a heavy table. Jim tightens his hold on the stake he’s carrying. He works the fingers of his free hand under the lid of the casket and lifts it up. He gives it a shove and it topples to the floor with a thud. Blair jumps at the sound and sucks in a startled breath.

The vampire looks just as Jim expects. Its skin is waxy and ashen. Its cheeks are hollow under high cheekbones. Its eye sockets are deep and gray. Its lips are red and there is a telltale drop of dried blood at the corner of its mouth.

Blair clutches Jim’s jacket with a firm grip. He moves so he can look around Jim’s torso at the vampire. It is an eerie, surreal looking creature. Blair stares at it, awash with pity and remorse for its countless victims. He feels the tug of the fabric in his grasp as Jim raises his arm to plunge a stake into the vampire’s heart. He squeezes his eyes shut.

The vampire’s arm shoots up and its hand grabs Jim’s wrist. Its cadaverous appearance belies its superhuman strength. Jim’s attempt is easily warded off. The creature rises from its coffin and tosses Jim aside in one swoop.

Blair looses his grip on Jim and stumbles. He falls against a wall, bounces off it, and lands on the floor. He bangs his head and sees stars against the blackness. The flashlight drops from his hand and goes out.

Jim struggles with the vampire. They scuffle and crash into the table. The coffin slides off and lands, up-ended, over Blair.

The vampire’s strength is formidable. Jim puts up a good fight. He’s in great shape and knows dozens of ways to overpower an adversary. He holds tight to the stake. He strikes out again and again, aiming for the vampire’s chest. The creature manages to avoid the blows. The two opponents flail about the room. They end up on top of the coffin, trapping Blair underneath it. Jim is pinned under the vampire. He hears Blair beneath him. He hears Blair pounding against the bottom of the coffin.

Blair pushes and kicks against the confines of the small space. He searches frantically for the flashlight. He calls Jim’s name. He hollers curses at the vampire. He summons words of exorcism from the research he’s done and hurls them through the darkness at the creature. His efforts are met by the vampire’s fiendish laugh and Jim’s groans.

The vampire presses close. Jim looks into its malevolent eyes. He hears the creature’s raspy voice. His blood runs cold as the vampire reveals that its true intent is to acquire a protégé. It wants Blair, but not before it has dealt with Jim.

Jim is infuriated. The added personal threat against his guide fuels his ire. He feels the vampire’s cold putrid breath against his neck. Its fangs prick Jim’s skin and sink into his veins. He feels its saliva seep into his bloodstream, releasing its vampire-enzyme. Jim contorts, trying to wrestle the creature away. The iron nail Blair insisted Jim wear touches the vampire. It pulls back suddenly, writhing in agony. It screeches as if the metal burns. Jim seizes the opportunity and plunges the stake into the vampire’s chest, piercing its heart.

Blair is near crazy with fear and dread. Sickening sounds permeate the gloom. There is the sound of Jim huffing and grunting with the strain of the fight. There is the sound of the vampire’s loathsome voice. There is the sound of flesh being ripped.

And then there is silence.

Blair purses his lips and lies still. He strains to hear what is going on. He doesn’t know if he should call Jim’s name or not. His fingers inch with determination along the floor next to his torso. They locate a stake and curl tightly around it.

Jim hefts the vampire off him effortlessly. It weighs next to nothing now. It glides to the floor and tiny puffs of dust churn into the air as it lands. Jim eases himself up. He is a little dizzy and sways a bit. He drops to his knees next to the vampire and gives the stake a twist, anchoring it firmly in the lifeless heart.

Jim swivels around and sets the palms of his hands against the side of the coffin. He pushes it up and shoves it aside with a tired sounding ‘oof’. The sight that greets him elicits a choked off chuckle. His lips curl into a crooked smile.

Blair is poised to strike. His features are contorted into a tenacious scowl. He squints against the darkness, trying to adjust his vision. He grits his teeth and readies himself to lunge. It is a sight Jim will never forget.

Jim whispers the word Chief. Blair exhales a drawn out sigh of relief and drops the stake. He sniggers hysterically for a moment and then breaks into a broad smile. Jim helps Blair to his feet. They spend several minutes dusting each other off. Jim reassures Blair at least a dozen times that the creature has been dispatched. Jim doesn’t mention the bite on his neck.

Blair finds the flashlight and against Jim’s urging not to, he shines it on the vampire. He takes a good long look at the fiend. Then he looks at Jim and thanks him. Jim smiles grimly and shrugs.

They talk about what needs to be done next. Blair finds a hammer from one of the outer rooms and uses it to smash the coffin to smithereens. He kicks the splintered wood into a pile in one of the corners. Jim clears the room of any sign of the conflict that took place. He pinpoints his and Blair’s fingerprints and obliterates them. Jim lifts the vampire. He’s careful not to dislodge the stake. Blair leads the way up the stairs. They place the vampire on the floor in the hallway. They position it under a large window. Jim checks the surrounding outdoor area with his senses. He’s satisfied that they are completely alone. Blair backs away as Jim uses the hammer to pry the boards off the window. Sunshine streams in. The warm rays fall on the vampire and within seconds it’s reduced to a mound of ash. Blair retrieves a box from the attic and they work together to scoop up every bit of the ash. Jim lugs the box outside. They hike to the cliff side and fling a portion of the ashes out and over the bay. They take the rest deep into the woods and scatter it to the wind.

Blair alternates between bouts of deafening silence and near manic chattering as they return to the truck, climb in, and head back toward Cascade. For the most part Jim is quiet. He nods now and then but stares straight ahead. When he does talk his voice is soft and contemplative. He retells the parts of the recent bout with the vampire Blair wants to hear. He praises Blair for his bravery. He emphasizes that the vampire considered him an awesome enough shaman to risk traveling a great distance to make him his toady. Blair snorts and shakes his head at that comment.

Jim lets Blair’s voice surround him. He’s aware of the miniscule corpuscles coursing through his body. He considers what to do about the metabolic changes that are beginning to occur. He knows Blair won’t like his decision.

It’s not until they’re halfway back to the city that Blair notices the blood on Jim’s collar. He reaches toward Jim with a shaky hand and tugs the fabric out of the way. He gags when he sees the bite mark on Jim’s neck. Jim pulls over just in time for Blair to open the door and lean out of the truck. He retches on the side of the road.

Jim is grim and business like as he begins to tell Blair what must be done. He tells Blair he doesn’t want to end up like the pathetic aberration they just reduced to dust.

Blair glares at Jim and makes slashing motions with his hands and vehement shushing noises. He covers his ears and slouches down in the seat. He tells Jim there’re other things they can do. He insists he’ll find another way. He swears there is no fucking way that he’ll drive a stake through his best friend’s heart so Jim just better get the hell used to the idea.

~*~*~*~

It’s been a month since the killings.

Blair mulls over the changes in his and Jim’s lives as he hurries down the street toward the loft. He goes over in his mind the plans they’ve made and the compromises they’ve hammered out.

The sun is going down and Jim will be up soon. He works as a night watchman now down by the docks. It’s only a six-hour shift four nights a week and the pay is mediocre. He is still a sentinel and the hours give him plenty of time to watch over the tribe.

Blair teaches some night classes at the community college and spends lots of time honing his skills as a shaman. He is still Jim’s guide. He schedules his time around Jim’s and still backs him up. Some things just never change.

Blair thinks back to the conversation they had with Simon after that day at the old haunted house. He smiles fondly as he recalls Simon’s initial disbelief and ultimate vow of secrecy and support. He misses going to the station and he knows Jim does too.

Blair trots up the stairs. He enters the loft and calls out to Jim.

Jim is in the kitchen, puttering around preparing a light meal for Blair. He asks Blair how his walk was. He listens and smiles as Blair describes in detail sights and sounds and even smells with his customary exuberance. Jim asks about the sunset and Blair paints him a picture filled with dozens of hues. Jim closes his eyes and breathes in deeply. He misses sunsets.

Blair sidles up to Jim and nudges him with his hip. Jim shoves back and the two men laugh comfortably. Blair asks Jim if he’s hungry. Jim nods nonchalantly and answers that he wouldn’t say no to a small bite.

Blair leans back and bares his throat.

Jim leans down and sinks his fangs into Blair’s neck.


End file.
